This is sort of like D&D - Game of Thrones style in large capital city with family houses and politics, during the crowning of a new king (jousting games, etc...) "winter court " intrigue setting.

I would like your help making interesting, dramatic rumors based on house-to-house communication, inter-family communication, merchant kings and house communication, all the Knight gossip and quests, and church/state dealings, as well as just fun gossip and rumor mill for entertainment purposes, water cooler talk or old wives tales!

A small list of open ended ideas that either:

- just fun/cool entertaining
- set up back story
- give PC's dirty laundry and secrets on NPC's or factions
- or set up adventures to come

Gossip from mundane, to magic and supernatural, to drama of men and monsters.

Hooks of interest to use later or have fun qith. Bur not necessarily laying neq plot-adventure hooks. Since we already have next big adventure planned.

In Rauxes, or somewhere else in The Great Kingdom? Makes a huge difference what kind of stuff is going on, and what sort of rumors are going around about it.

For example, it's probably an open secret in Rauxes that the Overking has had several members of the high nobility killed and brought back as undead, and that he has many outright demonic advisors. In Rel Astra or Marner, that might not be so well known and be considered a wild rumor.

1. The fishmonger's boy is slow-witted (apple not falling far from tree)
2. The vegetable-seller uses untrustworthy weights (no, just a sharp trader)
3. The crazy old-lady in the hovel is witch! (no, just a crazy old lady)
4. The watch arrested Billy again for being drunk after-hours (yup)
5. When Billy gets out of gaol, his wife will sport a black eye in a couple of days (sadly true)
6. The local pickpocket stole from a visiting merchant who as since left town (maybe)
7. The watch was questioning Wilfrick about a fight that occurred outside his house (maybe, or was it something else)
8. The sewers in this part of town are never fixed (actually, they are on a schedule for repairs, but everyone feels like their problems are not heard)
9. Taxes will be raised to pay for war/civic improvement/ruler's pleasure/for sheer greediness (speculation)
10. The weather means a bad harvest (maybe)
11. Did you see Rob's strangely shaped turnip? it looked like.... (fill in the blank)

Note that few of these are likely to tie into heroic action (even dealing with Billy is not likely to end well). They are however what the average person is going to talk about. Gossip in such a society would be at the level of things that people deal with regularly and partially understand at least. Gossiping about politics is dangerous (no 1st Amendment) and there are no real celebrities in the Flanaess... most farmers have never heard of a Mordenkainen I bet.

Most rumors should have nothing to do with the adventure at hand, or any adventure really. part of the players challenge is to sift multiple information sources, and rumors at the tavern are only one of them. They can also show the characters why they opted for a life of adventure, and not working a farm...